Past Event

Monday, April 24, 2017

The Recovery of the Quedlinburg Treasures: Would Anything Be Different Now?

The Quedlinburg treasures were stolen by an American Army officer stationed in Germany near the end of WWII and sent to his hometown in Texas, where they remained for more than 40 years. The IFAREvening will begin with a showing of "The Liberators," a soon-to-be-released documentary about the search for and legal batle to recover the medieval treasures.

Following the film wil be a discussion with Thomas Kline, lead counsel for the Quedlinburg church in its quest to recover the priceless objects, and Charles Little, the medievalist who verified several of the treasures before they were returned to Germany. The recovery of the treasures made headline news, most notably througharticles in TheNew York Times written by Willam Honan, who helped track down the treasures in Texas and get them returned. Much was made of the fact that many art specialists examined the works when they were for sale in the U.S. but didn't report that, either to authorities in the U.S. or Germany. A great deal has happened in the field of WWII-era art restitution since the 1990s. Join us as we examine this story anew and discuss what, if anything, would be different now.